courtesi

I am in the process of figuring out what size frame I need some input on frame sizing. I am 5'11 and typically ride a 55cm frame. I am thinking about a 54cm frame but have read on here that they size rather large.

So I'd like to find out how tall you 52cm/54cm Long Haul Truckers are.

HardyWeinberg

I am ~5'8" and basically happy w/ my 54cm LHT but have been wondering lately if a) I should have gotten a 52 or b) maybe just a shorter stem will do it. Basically I find myself pulled too far forward on the saddle (after having bent over backwards and then some to get it as far forward as possible). I am running 26x2.0 tires and standover still works.

(re 'size rather large' compare the top-tube length, or effective top-tube length, from the LHT to whichever other bike)

mpluthier

courtesi,

I'm 5'8", 30" inseam, and my 54c LHT fits perfectly with about 3" of seatpost exposed (not including the inch or so of seatpost tube above the top tube). Hope this helps.

MPLuthier

recklesscogniti

I ride a 58cm surly cause I have a particularly long inseam. I am about 5'11" and like the fit of the bike...I ride with the seatpost a little low, it is just about even with my stem. My friend is 5'8" and rides a 52. I was really surprised how small the 52 LHT is. I think the smaller 26" tires bring it down a lot. You might also consider the 56cm frame. I think you'd have no problem fitting on the 56cm at 5'11" and might also fit on the 54cm. You probably know that the 56cm comes with 700c tires and the 54 comes with 26" tires. That is something to consider as well. i'm not a professional but have been around a lot of LHT models as of late.Good luck, you've chosen a great bike.

SlowRoller

In sizing the LHT, I wouldn't worry so much about seat-tube length as top tube length. I hear the LHT has a long reach. Typically, this has a narrower range of adjustability than the height of your saddle. So, find a frame size where you feel good in your reach, then you ought to be able to make the necessary adjustments in saddle height. Good luck!

recklesscogniti

Ah, forgot about the reach issue. Yes, SlowRoller, you're pretty much right, the LHT does have a pretty long reach. If you're using this as a touring bike, you want to be bent over somewhere between racing and mountain style. Make sure to try out all of the bar combinations you can, a set of drop bars will have numerous hand positions to check.

Fueled by Boh

i'm about 5'7" - 5'8" and i'm pretty happy with my lht. its got about a fistful of seatpost and a brooks professional. My inseam is about 31".

Luis Vivanco

I find a lot to agree with here. I am 5'9", 30" inseam. I rode both a 54 and a 56 and decided to go with a 56. Intellectually, I knew I should have been leaning toward the 54. But there was a substantial comfort difference for me with the 56 (which suggests you should try both sizes you're considering, which hopefully your LBS has). I have a good inch and a half clearance over the top tube, and ride with a fist of seatpost, seat even with the stem. The top tube doesn't feel too long for me (if it did for you, whatever the size, you could get a shorter stem than the stock.) When all is said and done, the 54 felt cramped to me, and the 56 stretched me out to a degree of comfort that surprised me.

I am also glad I chose the 56 because the wheel size. After mountain biking for 20 years on 26-inchers, it was a revelation to ride on these wheels--I float right past the 26-inchers with less effort, or at least it seems that way to me.

When working through the sizing quandary, I knew I would be touring and running errands, the former favoring the larger size perhaps, the latter favoring the smaller size. The touring has been a pleasure, the errands too -- I have never thought twice about its larger size for that purpose--easy on and off. Mind you, it's like running errands in a Cadillac as opposed to a mid-sized sedan. But I suppose that would be the case no matter what the frame size. It's a big bike.

courtesi

Ideally I want the handlebars to be as high as on the typical Rivendell Atlantis (or really any of their models.)

I think I'll try to track down a LBS that has both sizes...

courtesi

I should also say that an LBS had once told me that I should not be on a bike with a longer TT than 55.5. I would think then the 56 size would be out of the question because it's 57.0?

well biked

I'm 5'8" with a 31.5" inseam (PBH), and I have a 52 cm LHT. The bike has a 54 cm effective top tube length, which is just right for me. At 5'11", I would guess you'd be best on a 54cm or 56cm, depending on your build. The top tube length is most important, match that to your needs. Here's my 52cm LHT:

courtesi

That's a beautiful bike!

I'm likely the odd ball here. I don't plan to do any real 'touring' with it.

As a 315 #'er I plan to:

1) Use it like a road bike

2) But unlike a road bike, with wider tires let me ride on crushed limestone bike paths if need be

3) Longest distance likely 100 mile century rides


There are two things that attract me to LHT:

1) 26 wheels. I know everyone is doing 650B/700C these days but I love em. Also, I know bigger wheels can be built to hold my weight - I'd just rather start off with peace of mind that I'm going to have a pair of 26" bomb proof wheels. Also for whatever reason I like the look of them.

2) Weight. I feel 'safer' more 'comfortable' being on something with some weight under me. Carbon/Aluminium bikes scare the crap out of me.

roadfix

I'm almost the same size as well biked and also ride a 52 with just a fist full of exposed seatpost. I have a 30" inseam.

HardyWeinberg

I love rolling 26x2.0 tires w/ 36-spoke wheels. It is a real feeling of indestructability.

Dellphinus

54 LHT. I'm 5' 7.5", with 29" inseam. Clearance is minimal.

courtesi

Based on the available input I am going to double check with 2 LBS that I know are excellent at sizing up bikes. I don't think I will be steered towards a 56 but if I am I probably won't get the LHT because I want 26" wheels.

seeker333

You should size it so that you have at least an inch clearance over TT with the largest size tires you intend to run, for the terrain you expect to use it on.

You need lower standover (smaller size bike) to run 2" tires (marathons, etc), or to use on uneven paths and dirt roads, or both.

If you ride a 55cm road bike with horizontal TT, then you'd normally want to drop down to a 53cm lht - after you add in bigger tires you end up about the same. Touring frames typically have a longish tt so that bar reach is maintained (55/53 vs std 55/55). LHTs are sized this way for this reason.

If you're riding a sloping tt road bike, then the conversion is not straightforward. Your best bet, obviously, is to try some on for fit. Short of that, make lots of careful measurements.

Asking folks what size they use is not the best approach. People usually don't know their accurate PBH and just use their levis inseam, and/or ride bikes that are not well fit.

well biked

I think it's more important, like with any other bike, to get the size that has the correct top tube length. In other words, concern yourself with that element of the fit first.

I agree that the way the LHT is sized, you'll usually come out fine in terms of standover height if you get the proper top tube length, even with fat tires.

B Rubble

Am 5'5" with a 31" pbh.
The LBS said I could go with a 50 or 52. I checked Rivendell's site, because the LHT is very similar to their Atlantis. The Rivendell sizing chart recommended a 54.

Bottom line: I went with a 52 and am extremely satisfied.

El Pelon

I am 5'4" with a 28 inch inseam, and I fit PERFECTLY on the 46. Normally, I ride an XS in compact frames, or a 48. Every body is different. Go to the LBS, ride them both, and then choose. Spend more than 10 minutes on each. Either way, I am a HUGE LHT convert. I absolutely love the bike.

Thisisit

I'm 5' 8" and I have a 52 LHT. I don't know my inseem off the top of the head, but I just clear the top tube. The bike fits excellently, about 3" of seat post and a short stem.

At first I didn't like the idea of the 26" tires, but I love this bike to death. It is extremely comfortable and I wouldn't wish for anything else.
Just got in from a quick 25k and wish I could go out for more!

HardyWeinberg

Check how this guy who's closer to your size got a 54 LHT to work:

https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=332319

Here is the bikecad output (ie the picture):

https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=347662

and here's the picture if you don't want to register at mtbr.com to see it

alanps

Hey everyone!
I plan on building the LHT from the frame up, and before buying a frameset I need to decide on the size. The problem is, there is no LBS for me to try it, so I need to guesstimate. I took some measures, and I believe I fit to the 52 or 54. I am 175cm high, and have a pubic bone height of 82.5cm. I plan to build it with flat bar, so a size up may be okay length-wise, but I'd still like to hear from people who own these sizes and their experience.
Thanks!

seeker333

You are responding to a 7-year-old thread. Most of the posters are long gone.

I happen to be 174cm in height with a PBH of 83cm. So I'm 1cm shorter than you with 0.5cm longer legs - you have a (~1.5cm) longer torso than me, and possibly longer arms.

I've been riding a 56cm Surly Disc Trucker (DT) since 2013. This size fits me OK for drop bar and OK for MTB flat bar, basically a compromise between the two build requirements. BTW geometry is identical for LHT and DT for a given frame size.

I say OK for drop bar because I'm using an 80mm 6 deg stem with 50mm of headset spacer. 56 would fit me perfectly if I were younger or lacked the lower back condition which forces me to sit more upright. If I were committed to drop bar then a size 54 would be better for me WRT to ETT/reach, since I could go to a 95mm/6deg stem and have same reach (ETT 54/555mm vs 56/570mm). However the 54 would force me use another 20mm of spacer due to lower stack height (54/568 vs 56/588mm). So the 54 is better for me reach-wise and worse stack/bar height-wise. With your longer torso (and possibly longer arms) , I'd say the 56 would be a better fit for you for a drop bar build. 52 is definitely too small for you.

I've long considered building my DT as a flat bar bike. Either my old reliable configuration flat bars with 5 deg bend plus bar ends, or maybe a Soma Sparrow type bar with longer stem. I find that I climb hills better with bar ends than a drop bar, plus I never bump my knees on a flat bar (occasionally hit drop bar ends). The aerodynamic advantage of drop bar over flat bar on a loaded touring bike is minimal or nonexistent. Panniers overwhelm any handlebar type/rider posture drag considerations, and average speed of 10-12 mph when loaded means it's silly to think of aerodynamics in the first place. So I may rebuild my DT with flat bars soon.

Building with flat bars vs drop bars require more reach, more ETT (effective top tube). Perhaps 40-50mm more top tube. If you intend to build a LHT/DT for flat bars with no intention of using drop bars, then you should pick a larger frame size - for you, definitely 54 and perhaps even 56. If I convert my 56 DT to drop bars I'll need to change my 80mm stem to at least a 120, and probably a 130mm. I know this with high confidence because my secondary bike is a hardtail MTB converted to commuter/tourer duty, which has an ETT of 605mm, 110mm 5deg stem and a 5 deg bend flat bar. I have to compensate for the (605-570)mm ETT difference plus the drop vs flat bar reach difference with longer stem. So you can see why I'll need to swap the 80mm stem out for a 130mm stem - even then it'll have shorter reach than my MTB, by ~25mm.

I've digressed a bit from your question so that you can understand the basis of my answer. If you're going to run flat bar only then you likely need a 54 or even a 56 LHT - probably 56 is better fit for your stated body dimensions. There's an old frame size fitting rule of thumb which states frame size = PBH*0.67, which for you is 82.5*0.67= 55.3cm. And that rule's for road bikes (drop bars).

If you decide to go with a 56 LHT, then you have to choose between 26" and 700c wheeled versions. 700c wheels with 38mm tires and full fenders will likely result in toe overlap, which is a minor inconvenience once you nearly crash 5-6 times while attempting a U-turn in the street and learn that you can't pedal in such a tight-radius turn. 700c wheels with larger tires weigh more than a similarly-tired 26" wheel and are slower to accelerate. While 700c tourers are the current fad, you'd be better off with 26" wheels. I've ridden my 700c DT back to back with my 26" MTB many times on the same course, and there's no speed advantage to the larger wheels - in fact my DT is about 8% slower than my MTB. Plus 26" tires are far more common outside USA.

TL DR: You will likely find the best fit with a 56cm LHT for a flat bar build. Standover height will be tight but you don't really size a bike by standover height since you spend 99% of the time riding the bike and little time standing still. If you intend to use the bike exclusively for commuting (typically lots of stops), then a 54 might be better WRT standover but reach will be short.

fietsbob

Size = seat tube length_ BB center to tube top .. You can get an Idea about what frame size is right for you
By trying a bunch of bikes Irregardless of the Logo On the frame .

a Cm is till a Cm. & 1 Cm=10Mm.